Woodworking mechanism.



PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906.

T. W. LOVATT & G. PURSER.

1 T m J H l I I l I l u l i v 1 l I WOODWORKING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION mum 00w 8, 1904 f f 1 1f 6 1 2 I i SLI 5 a Z Z 17 fazweufmvfNo. 823,342. PATBNTED JUNE 12, 1906. T. W. LOVATT & C. PURSER.WOODWORKING MECHANISM.

' APPLIOATION FILED DUTJ], 1904.

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v WOODWORKING MECHANISM.

. APPLICATION IILEI) 00T.8, 1904.

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No. 823,342. PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906.

' I T.. w.- LOVATT & 0. PURSER.

WOODWORKING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 8, 1904.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

THOMAS WVILSON LOVATT AND CHARLES PURSER, OF WOLVERHAMPTON,

ENGLAND. v

WOODWORKING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1906.

Application filed October 8,1904. Serial No. 227,707.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, TnoMAs WILsoN LOVATT, contractor, and CHARLESPURSER, foreman machinist, subjects of the King of Great Britain,residing at Wolverhampton, in the county of'Stafford, England, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Woodworking Mechanism,of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object novel or improved woodworkingmechanism for use more especially in trenching and like opera tions,such as cutting out the housings for the treads and risers of staircasesand the like, but which may be used for a variety of purposes.

The invention comprises not merely the combination forming the mechanismin its amplest or completest form, but portions thereof also which whileconstituting less complex forms of mechanism may be used in performingone or more of the functions of the complete mechanism.

For the sake of convenience we will describe the invention in itsamplest or completest form, when it will be apparent that lesscombinations than the whole may themselves be used in cases in whichmechanism is not required to perform all the functions for which thecomplete mechanism can be used.

A practical illustration of the invention is shown in its amplest orcompletest form by the drawings herewith, to which reference will bemade in describing the invention.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 is a rear View of the mechanismthat is to say,a View as seen from the side at which the operator stands when using it.Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism as seen looking in thedirection of the arrow a of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of themechanism, taken on line 0c 00 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectiontaken on line y y of Fig. 1, certain parts which would appear below theplane of the section being omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 5 isa transverse section taken on line 9c 00 of Fig. 1, certain parts whichappear below the plane of the section being omitted in this view also.Fig. 6 is a detached rear view of the lower end of the swinging frame,middle slider, and bearings for the horizontal spindle, all hereinafterdescribed. Fig. 7 is a transverse section taken on line y 'y of Fig. 6,

showing also the handle by which the frame is swung. Fig. 8 is adetached transverse section through a cutter-block of the horizontalspindle. Fig. 9 is a detached side elevation of a skate used for apurpose hereinafter shown. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of a plainadjustable stop, which may under some circumstances be used in lieu ofanother form of stop hereinafter described. Fig. 11 shows a method ofusing the mechanism with a former placed upon the wood to be operatedupon.

A swinging or pendulous frame or arm A is suspended from suitablebearings B, of which the one to the right hand, Fig. 1, is shown insection, and the aXis of suspension is common with that of a shaft C,through which the power is transmitted from a prime mover to ahorizontal spindle D and to two vertical spindles E, which are carriedby the lower end of the suspended frame. The frame A is bifurcated atits upper end, and at the end of each member A of the bifurcation isformed an outward trunnion a. These trunnions are carried, respectively,in the bearings B' and constitute the means of suspension of the framefromisuchbearings. The right-hand trunnion, Fig. 1, together with theend of the corresponding member A of the bifurcation, is shown insection. Each trunnion-bearin is preferably divided into an upper part ban a lower part b, which may be drawn together by means of bolts b toput upon the trunnions any degree of friction which may be required toguard against the frame overrunning as it is turned by the operator intoany desired position. The shaft C passes through the trunnions a with aclearance-space be' tween itself and the interiors of the trunnions andis supported at its ends in suitable bearings F, which are preferably ofthe wellknown self-leveling type.

Upon the shaft C and within the bifurcated portion of the frame A arefixed a central pulley G and two side pulleys H.

At the lower end of the frame A, and at the middle thereof, is mounted aslider J, which is capable of sliding along vertical guides c, whichproject from opposite sides 1) of the frame into correspondinggroovesformed in opposite sides of the slider. This slider (which isshown as in about its mid-position) carries four bearings, which have acommon horizontal aXis-namely, two middle bearings d and two outerbearings 6, formed down from a bar K, which is fixed to the face of theslider J. The horizontal spindle D is carried in the two middle bearings61 and has conical ends f, which are centered in the ends of pinsq,fitted within the bearings 6, within which they may be adjustedendwise and within which they are secured by set-pins 1". Upon thisspindle and between the middle bearings d is fixed a pulley L, (shown bya broken-line circle only in Fig. 8,) which is driven by a belt 9 fromthe pulley G, and one side of this belt passes over the outer side of apulley h, carriedbetween a pair of arms j, which are pivoted to theframe A and over the inner side of a pulley k, which is carried betweena pair of arms m, which are rigid with the arms j. A pair of weightedlevers n, which are rigid with the arms and m, tend to turn them in adown ward direction and maintain the belt 9 taut while it is driving thepulley L. The slider J is held up when not actually in use by aspring-catch p, and as the slider is raised into its upward orinoperative position one of the arms m comes down upon a stop 9", andthus allows the belt g to run sufficiently slack to insure that it willnot drive the pulley L. The spindle D has mounted on each portionthereof which is between one of the middle and one of the outer bearingsa block M, of which only one is shown in Fig. 1, to which cuttingtoolsfor troughing, molding, or the like may be fixed. The portions of thespindle D between the middle and outer bearings are screw-threaded, andthe cutter-blocks are fixed in position endwise therealong, whererequired, by means of lock-nuts 15; but to avoid any risk of the spindleturning within the blocks each block is preferably provided with afiXedkey or feather u, (see Fig. 8,) which is fitted to slide along agroove 1) of the spindle. A forked hand-lever w is pivoted to the frameA, and each side of its fork is connected, by means of a link 8, withthe slider J. The slider J, and consequently the spindle D which itcarries, are moved down by the handlever w, to bring into operation uponany work which may be fixed on a table below any tool or tools carriedby such spindle, and the slider is raised again by such hand-lever tobring the tools clear of the work, until it is en aged by thespring-catch p, the head of whic being beveled for the purpose, latchesitself under the hand-lever. The catch is dis engaged from thehand-lever by the operator when the slider is to be lowered again, andimmediately the head of the catch is clear of the hand-lever the sliderfalls until it tightens the belt g, after which the slider is moved downby the hand-lever against the force of the weighted levers n, suchlatter levers rising as the belt 9 is further tightened. The belttightener tends to raise the slider again when the force by which it hasbeen moved down is relaxed,and the initial portion of such raisse 34aing is effected, or largely so, by the pull of the belt-tightener.

Rollers a, which are adjustable as to height and are for the purpose ofbearing upon and traveling alongthe surface of the wood which is beingoperated upon by cutters which are carried by the spindle D, are carriedby brackets s, which are fixed to the bearings d, respectively, of theslider J, by means of setpins t, which pass through slotted holes of thebrackets. These rollers are arranged at such height relatively to suchspindle as to allow the cutters to cut down into the wood therequireddepth only, and with a view to accuracy of results their centers shouldbe on the vertical line which, as seen in a side elevation of themechanism when the armA is vertical, passes through the center of thespindle D.

V For convenience in swinging the frame A a pair of arms 0 project in anupwardly-inclined direction from the two middle bearings d of thespindle D and are connected together at their outer ends by a handle-bard.

The mechanism as thus far described is utilized in the following mannerthat is to say, the wood which is to be operated upon by cutters of thespindle D is fixed upon a table or bed N, of which the top is indicatedby a single line, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, which is below the mechanism, thetable being preferably adjustable as to height. To enable the work to beconveniently fixed upon the table N, the pivoted frame A may be swungsomewhat out of the perpendicular if, owing to the position of itscenter of gravity, it does not normally hang sufficiently out of theperpendicular for the purpose. The frame is then moved inward to bringit into the position required for the cutters to commence cutting, thecutters being brought down to cut into the wood as deeply as the rollersa will allow, through the medium of the hand-lever w, and the frame isgradually moved upon its axis of suspension to travel the cutters alongthe wood, the rollers a rolling upon the surface of the wood and theslider J moving vertically within its guides to adjust itself to theconstantly-varying distance between the axis of suspension of the frameA and the surface of the wood which is being operated upon.

If the work to be performed is such that the rollers a would be liablein traveling over the surface of the wood which is being oper ated uponto cross holes in such surface into which they might drop, pivotedskates, such as the skate 6, shown in side elevation, Fig. 9, aresubstituted for the rollers, being each of such length that it will passover a hole without in any degree passing thereinto.

A circular saw, or two or more circular saws, may be carried by thespindle D, or there may be mounted on such spindle any form of toolwhich may be carried between the bearings of a revolving spindle, andthe bearings for the spindle may of course be made to project from thebar K any distance which may be necessary to suit the kind of toolswhich such spindle is required to carry.

At the lower end of the frame A and at opposite sides of the centralplane which lies in the direction of the movement of the arm are mountedsliders 0, each of which is capable of sliding in vertical guides P,rigidly connected with the frame A. These sliders are shown as at aboutthe middle of their stroke. Mounted within suitable bearings f of thesesliders are the vertical spindles E, one for each slider. On the upperend of each spindle E is fixed a pulley R, and on the lower end isformed a head g to receive any de sired form of cutter. The spindles Eare driven by the pulleys H, respectively, of the shaft 0, each throughthe medium of a belt h, which is guided in an approximately horizontaldirection to-and from the corresponding pulley R by guide-pulleys S S,having their axes fixed in relation to the frame A. A transversecarrying-bar y" passes at its ends through and is just a sliding fitwithin the upper portions of the sliders O, and a forked hand-lever k ispivoted to the frame A, and

each side of the fork is connected, by means of a link m, with thetransverse bar j. The sliders O are normally held up by springs n,

each of which is connected at its upper end to the frame A and at itslower end with one of the fork sides of the hand-lever 7c, one of thesprings being connected with one fork side and the other spring with theother fork side. The sliders O and the spindles E, which they carry, maybe moved down in relation to the frame A by depressing the hand-lever7c. The portions of the belts h which are between the guide-pulleys S Sand the pulleys R being (approximately) horizontal insure that thevertical movements of the sliders will not materially affect the tensionof the belts. Each pair of vertical guides P within which a slider O iscapable of sliding is carried upon a horizontal guide Q, which is boltedacross the rear face of the frame A and along which they may be slid tobring the spindles E into any desired position sidewise. The guides Pare rigidly secured to the guide Q when the spindles are in theirdesired positions.

The spindles E may be brought down so that the tools which they carrymay bore holes in the wood either prior or subsequently to the operationof the tools which are carried by the spindle D or independently of anywork being performed by such last-mentioned tools.

Rollers a (or skates, such as e, in lieu thereof,) carried by brackets 0fixed to the sliders O and adjustable as to height, limit the depth towhich the tools in the ends of the spindles E can cut into the wood. Ifsuch tools are required simply to bore into the ble of being substitutedfor a bracket 0 and roller (L or skate in lieu of such roller.

For some purposes only a single tool or set of cutters may be requiredupon the spindle D, and for some purposes only one of the spindles E berequired to carry a tool, and for some operations rollers, or skates inlieu thereof, or stops to limit the depth of cut of a particular depth,plain tool or tools may be dispensed with. One

of such rollers, skates, or stops may be used instead of a pair, ifrequired only in respect of a single tool or in respect of tools whichare near together, the chief function of the rollers, or of skates usedin lieu thereof, being to insure while a slider carrying an operatingtool is pressed down an automatic adjust ment of the slider and auniform or substantially uniform depth of cut as the tool is trave mmSheet-metal shields T, used as a protection against the flying shavingsand borings from the tools, are indicated in Fig. 1 by broken lines.

The mechanism may, as will be obvious, either in whole or in part beused for a variety of operations required in woodworking. As'an exampleof the use of the complete machine, the nosing of a housing for astaircasetread may be bored in by a tool carried by one of the verticalspindles E and afterward the straight portion of the housing cut in upto the nosing by a set of cutters carried by the horizontal spindle D,and the tool carried by the vertical spindle may be utilized in cuttingsomewhat lengthwise from the nosing, if desired. When a tool is carriedby each vertical spindle and two sets of cutters are carried by thehorizontal spindle, the mechanism may be used in cutting a housing intwo staircase-strings at the same time.

If it is desired to out along the surface of the wood to varying depths,the roller or rollers used in respect of any tool ortools may run alongthe surface of a former, such as p Fig. 11, placed upon the wood to beoperated upon, such tool or tools in such case cutting to a uniform orsubstantially uniform depth from the surface of the former. In Fig. 11 aroller a is shown as running upon the inclined surface of the former p,which is upon the piece of wood g into which a cutter, of which thecircle of revolution is indicated by the broken-line circle 1*, cuts agroove having an inclined bottom, (indicated by the broken line F.)

It will be obvious that the mechanism may be varied considerably indetail without departing from the nature of the invention,

IIO

v of which the main features are a swinging or such variations andmodifications as may be reasonably expected to occur to the mind of aperson skilled in the art to which the inven tion relates on a carefulperusal of this specification. It will also be obvious that lessercombinations than those which go to make up the complete mechanismdescribed, but which are novel in themselves, may in some cases beadvantageously used independently, and that some features are inthemselves novel and useful, though they may not be capable of beingused otherwise than with certain other portions of the mechanism asdescribed.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In woodworking mechanism, the combination of fixed upper bearings, aswinging frame or arm suspended directly from such bearings, a revolvingtool-spindle carried by the lower portion of such frame or arm, a gageor bearer carried by the frame or arm and movable vertically with thespindle, a lever pivoted to the frame or arm, by means of which leverthe spindle may be pressed down by hand, relatively to the frame or armand the gage or bearer thereby caused to travel along a stationarysurface the spindle being thereby automatically adjusted in relation tothe frame or arm, and the depth of cut, in relation to the surface onwhich the gage or bearer travels, rendered uniform or substantially so,as set forth.

2. In woodworking mechanism, the combination of upper bearings, aswinging frame or arm suspended directly from such bearings, a verticalslider carried directly by the lower portion of such frame or arm, arevolving tool-spindle carried by such slider, a gage or bearer carriedby the slider, and adapted to press upon and travel along the surface ofthe work or of a former, a lever pivoted to the frame or arm by means ofwhich the slider may be pressed down by hand and the gage or bearerthereby caused to travel along the surface of the wood which is beingoperated upon, or of a former, the slider being thereby automaticallyadjusted in relation to the frame or arm, and the depth of cut, from thesurface on which the gage or bearer travels, rendered uniform orsubstantially so, as set forth.

3. In woodworking mechanism, the com-.

bination of upper bearings, a swinging frame or arm suspended directlyfrom such bearings, a vertical slider carried directly by the lowerportion of the frame or arm, a vertical revolving tool-spindle carriedby such slider, a gage or bearer carried by such slider and adapted topress upon and travel along the surface of the work or of a former, andmeans'by which the slider may be pressed down to bring the cutter of thespindle into the wood to be operated upon and the gage or bearer uponthe surface of the wood or of a former, and the gage or bearer bepressed down upon such surface or former while the tool is traversed byturning the frame or arm upon its axis of suspension, substantially asset forth.

4. In woodworking mechanism, the combination of upper bearings, aswinging frame or arm suspended directly from such bearings, atransverse guide thereon, a vertical guide carried by and adjustablealong said transverse guide which is carried by the lower ortion of suchframe or arm, and a verticdl revolving tool-spindle movable verticallyand guided by such vertical guide, substantially as set forth.

5. In woodworking mechanism, the combination of upper bearings, aswinging frame or arm suspended from such bearings, a vertical slidercarried by the lower portion of such frame or arm, a horizontalrevolving tool-spindle carried by such slider, a second vertical slideralso carried by the lower portion of such arm, a vertical revolvingtoolspindle carried by such second slider, and means whereby each slidermay be pressed down independently by hand relatively to such frame orarm, substantially as set forth.

6. In woodworking mechanism, the combination of upper bearings, aswinging frame or arm suspended from such bearings, a vertical slidercarried by the lower portion of such arm, a horizontal revolvingtool-spindle carried by such slider, a second vertical slider alsocarried by the lower portion of such arm, a vertical revolvingtool-spindle carried by such second slider, a shaft having an axiscommon with that of the axis of suspension of the frame or arm, pulleyscarried by such shaft, pulleys carried by the tool-spindles, and meansby which such latter pulleys are driven from the pulleys carried by theshaft, and means by which said sliders may be pressed down independentlyby hand relatively to the arm, substantially as set forth. 7. Inwoodworking mechanism, the combination of upper bearings, a swingingframe or arm suspend ed from such bearings, a vertical slider carried bythe lower portion of such frame or arm, depth-gaging means carried bysaid slid er, ahorizontal revolving toolspindle carried by such slider,an overhead which transmits motion from the shaft-pulley to thespindle-pulley, a belt-tightening device for such .belt, and a leverpivoted to the frame or arm by means of which the slider may be moveddown against an upward pull of the belt, upon the surface of the work orupon a former, substantially as set forth.

8. In woodworking mechanism, the combination of upperbearings, aswinging frame or arm suspended from such bearings, a vertical slidercarried by the lower portion of such frame or arm, a horizontalrevolving tool-spindle carried by such slider, an overhead shaft, apulley carried by such shaft, a pulley carried by the tool-spindle, abelt which transmits motion from the shaft-pulley to the spindle-pulley,a belt-tightening device for such belt, means by which the slider ismoved down against an upward pull of the belt, and a stop to arrest theaction of the belt-tightener, whereby when the slider is raised to itsupward position, after being moved down, the belt is slackened and therotation of the spindle stopped, substantially as set forth.

9. In woodworking mechanism, the combination of upper bearings, aswinging frame or arm suspended from such bearings, a vertical slidercarried by the lower portion of such arm, a horizontal revolvingtool-spindle carried by such slider, a vertical revolving tool-spindlecarried by such arm and capable of endwise movement in relation thereto,and means through which the slider and the vertical tool spindle may beindependently pressed down by hand, substantially asset forth.

10. In woodworking mechanism, the combination of upper bearings, aswinging frame or arm suspended from such bearings, two vertical sliderscarried by the lower portion of such frame or arm, vertical guideswithin which such sliders can move, a horizontal guide along which theguides of the vertical sliders may be moved and to which they may befixed to fix them in any desired position in relation to one another, acarrier-bar slidingly fitted within both the vertical sliders, means bywhich the sliders may be raised together through the medium of suchcarrier-bar, and a vertical revolving toolspindle carried by eachslider, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof we have hereunto signed our names, this 24th day ofSeptember, 1904, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS WILSON LOVATT. CHARLES PURSER.

Witnesses:

ROBERT G. GRovEs, HENRY J. CooPER.

